World's First Stereo Recording June 1 1934

[@xerxespamplemousse6622]

My grandfather, William B. Snow, was part of the team that developed stereo. Back then they called it binaural. He used to play old stereo recordings for us when I was a little kid.

[@janpaullubek7954]

so binaural is not stereo?

[@Midee]

Wow! Hats off to your grandfather!

[@Midee]

@@janpaullubek7954 basically the same thing (left and right channels), but it was probably done in mid-side, since they're talking about lateral and vertical microphones instead of a left and right mic. it's a bit complicated for me to explain 😅

[@SuperFunkDoctor]

thx guys for making stereo, smoking a big 1 in your honor

[@OwnerOfTheCosmos]

+Dr. SuperFunk Watchu smoking for? Can't hear where the bass is coming from, anyway.

[@SuperFunkDoctor]

+God, creator of the universe can't remember this was last year

[@tripjet999]

Smoking kills....

[@CassetteMaster]

Oh wow. Wow. Truly amazing to hear! The 1930s in stereo, and crisp, clear highs on the frequency response. Goodness gracious, this is amazing to listen to. Usually I think of the '30s with very muffled, sometimes distorted, low quality sound. But hearing the amount of treble and clarity (minus the background noise) and in STEREO was an amazing experience to realize it is the 1930s!

[@LandondeeL]

Nice to hear some "untrained" voices from 1934 for a change.

[@TLK9419]

Yeah, they actually sound normal.

[@dreamlandnightmare]

@@TLK9419 They still have a distinctly 30's accent.

[@Mochrie99]

This is really cool, I had no idea stereophonic recording had been made this early in human history. And considering this is from 1934, it sounds pretty darn good!

[@lizichell2]

It's very good fidelity for a 1934 recording.

[@DylanBrady1]

YALL WENT CRAZY ON THIS

[@nintendo1889x]

How are the voices so clear for 30's era audio?

[@gonzoengineering4894]

Bell Labs used to have stupid amounts of R&D money is how.

[@omnibus4157]

Recording tech was more advanced than playback tech for a long time. We have better playback tech today.

[@BlazeMaster]

Actually 1930's already had good sound quality, I was schocked to learn they had optical media in 1885 albeit they could only record 15 seconds of analogue audio

[@ronaldwilliamson7963]

They had good sound in the thirties.

[@2leftfield]

The first stereo recordings that have survived were recordings of the Philadelphia Orchestra, recorded in Philadelphia's Academy of Music during a live concert on March 12, 1932. Arthur Keller used an experimental double groove disk recording system, fed by two microphones suspended over the stage, to record the orchestra. These recordings were later issued on LP in 1979 by Bell Laboratories. I have no doubt that you can find them, possibly on You Tube. The recording in this post is a test of the later single groove stereo system that Keller and his colleague I.S. Rafuse built in 1934.

[@mrman4645]

So vivid and every little detail, such a time ago and we can hear with such clarity

[@HayesMiddx]

Alan Blumlein recorded stereo at EMI before this.

[@RRaquello]

That seems to happen a lot with inventions. I guess you got a lot of people working on the same thing at the same time and since they're all pretty smart guys they come up with solutions at approximately the same time. What's interesting to me is that they had a workable stereo system in the 1930's, but it took about 40 years for it to become universal because I still remember monoaural records in the late 60's & early 70's. That's longer than it took for color TV to become the norm.

[@lizichell2]

Just to think this recording is some 80 odd years old

[@norman157]

90 years old this year

[@michaelmcgee8543]

great preservation.As with Wide screen motion picture talkies and the recently introduced three color technicolor process,The early stereo process for public consumption was too expensive to promote ,due to the depression

[@waverider227]

This is so amazing for back then almost unreal!

[@adam28xx]

Bells Labs were experimenting with stereo recordings earlier than this example and some of the results were issued in 1979-80 on two LPs. Examples from these LPs are already on KZbin, so here first is the "Ride of the Valkyries" played by Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra in April 1932 ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIKwi4xqbZ2Cr8U Here is some more Wagner, 'Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music,' again from 1932 with the same forces ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4i6poywhbVmr9U .The two men who cut their record in 1934 don't claim in their commentary that it was the first stereo recording, so the caption "World's First Stereo Recording" is clearly incorrect.

[@phaasch]

With Bumleins research, it was commercial pressure- EMI saw "no immediate commercial value" for stereo, and it was shelved, but the patents remained. The Americans went further with it, "Fantasia" being released in 1940 with a stereo soundtrack! Incidentally, I found the Blumlein recordings from 1934. theyre at sounds.bl.uk. The Mozart recordings are startling, and can be compared to the commercial mono release which is also on KZbin. Check out Blumleins other work too- he was a true genius!

[@robertlancaster8190]

IMO the powers that be at EMI were stupid…

[@andrewc.2952]

How exciting!

[@Malkmusianful]

I love this hot new Firesign Theatre skit.

[@ChrisMezzolesta]

Eat em! Wipe em off! Eat em again!

[@maryrafuse3851]

Irad S. Rafuse was my dad's half brother. He died before I was born. Irad also accomplished super secret work for the USN during WW2. Irad was born and brought up on the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Lunenburg County. Irad is well remembered in our family. Reverend Peter Bruce Rafuse, Anglican Priest.

[@VTMCompany]

"Can you hear me now?"

[@2leftfield]

Excellent video. Phaasch is correct about the Blumlein system, but at the time Keller had no knowledge of what Blumlein was doing and proceeded independently. As early as 1928, Keller had produced an experimental double groove system (2 grooves on the same disc and 2 playback styli). In 1932 he used it to record the Philadelphia Orchestra in stereo, during live concerts in the Academy of music. Those recordings were issued on an LP by Bell Labs in 1979.

[@datajake1999]

This was an interesting recording.

[@phaasch]

This is great- so now we've got '20's stereo! Have the Stokowski recordings survived? Didnt know stereo started as dual groove, this is a new subject I'm exploring. Heard a German stereo recording from 1944 yesterday of Beethovens Emperor Concerto. Recorded on tape, during an air raid(!) and despite this, the performance is stunning, and the sheer quality of the recording will knock your socks off

[@t37able45]

very interesting y have a collection of 4 vinyl long play that was recorded in 1952 of the first stereo recording that includes an introduction about the moment and part of opera Carmen in the second long play, is amazing

[@RatPfink66]

Keller's collaborator on the patent was Irad Rafuse, another Bell engineer. Rafuse built the recording machine, per an oral history Keller gave to IEEE. I can't find anything about Mr. Patterson.

[@maryrafuse3851]

Thankyou for this information, Irad Rafuse was my dad's half brother. As I understand it Irad's drawings were in a class of their own. Perfection! Interesting that he built the recording machine. Reverend Peter Rafuse 2023 Nova Scotia, Canada.

[@evank3718]

The narrators voice sounds so modern because it lacks the Transatlantic accent which most performers during the 1930s had

[@ssg263]

There is actually an earlier stereo recording form February 1932 of Duke Ellington's Orchestra, but it was an accidental recording - the fact that it was stereo wasn't figured out until the 1980s. Check out the video I posted

[@Poisson4147]

Fact check: Stereo was figured out LONG before the 1980s. Bell Labs was making experimental recordings in 1931 and 1932. Films used multi-channel tracks by the late 1930s, the most famous being Disney's _Fantasia_ (1940). Commercial stereo LPs were released in the 1950s.

[@RatPfink66]

@@Poisson4147 however, RCA didn't seem to pursue the technology. The company had plenty of fish to fry, including high fidelity cutters and mics, primitive home recording, their new 33 1/3 long-play Program Transcription format, and the hugely expensive development of electronic television. RCA Victor may have used the dual mic/dual table scheme on several record sessions. But all metal parts are long since scrapped and the commercial releases - which were mostly the low-selling Program Transcriptions - are so rare that they're almost never paired up. One dj acquaintance told me he had tried it and found the copies musically identical, but hopelessly out of phase.

[@Poisson4147]

@@RatPfink66 GREAT information, thank you!! I've had a long interest in older tech, both audio and video, and keep learning new things every time I get into a discussion with other fans. As the old saying goes hingsight is always 20-20, but the "what ifs" of abandoned/ignored advances are always bittersweet. A few that stand out in my mind: > Wide-range 78s were made as early as the late 1920s (search YT for "early hi-fi", among other sources) but according to my readings record companies soon stopped producing them b/c proper playback equipment would have been prohibitively expensive, especially after the Depression set in. > Ambiance and reverb were understood but never pursued. For now-inexplicable reasons, audio engineers felt recordings should have a dry, closed-in sound (??). Studio walls were lined with dampening materials to absorb any "extraneous" reflections. > A number of musicals were recorded in two-channel sound, either optical or disk. However the tracks were considered to be intermediate steps towards better balance on the final mono soundtrack rather than sonic ends in themselves. Many were trashed or languished in warehouses. Fortunately portions of some films such as _Du Barry Was a Lady_ and _Sun Valley Serenade_ were rediscovered about 30 years ago, allowing some performances to be reconstructed. But oh, if it were possible to hear everyone from Toscanini to Ellington at their heights, in stereo!

[@RatPfink66]

@@Poisson4147 If you listen to Victor dance band dates in 1932-'33 you'll hear a lot of variation in balance and ambience...much of it due to the new Model 44 ribbon mic, which was prone to blowing out. As a result, many bands were kept too far away from it, and you hear as much room tone as music. The demise of the hi-fi record was, as you say, down to the antiquated state of phonos in most homes. Worn steel needles didn't help any. Many surviving copies of the hi-fi 78s come with hissing surface noise above the signal. That's where the high frequencies were abraded away.

[@Poisson4147]

@@RatPfink66 Back in college I experimented with using 2.0 and 2.5 mil needles to play 78s versus the 3.0 mil that was most common. The slightly smaller needles tracked lower in the groove without bouncing around like 0.7 mil LP needles. The 3.0 needles had tended to wear the upper edges of the grooves while doing less damage to the lower parts. I wasn't able to work miracles but I did recover somewhat better sound. After college "life got in the way" and I had to give up most of my work with 78s. In any case I've since gotten to know several professional restorers who are head, shoulders, and ankles above my puny efforts. 😃

[@TheWorldOfBudgetVinylRecords]

This is fantastic! Were did you find this recording?

[@mono_to_STEREO]

Although not originally recorded in stereo, it is possible today to listen to many early mono recordings in stereo! Check out this recording from a 1891 Edison cylinder recording: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYexkJuJbrV4i5o, and this 1904 recording: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYexkJuJbrV4i5o

[@phaasch]

Hate to be a party pooper, but there were earlier recordings than this, the most notable being by Alan Blumlein, the inventor of "Binaural" sound. He took his equipment into Abbey Road studios in January 1934 and recorded Thomas Beecham rehearsing Mozarts "Jupiter" symphony. Apparently these early efforts by Blumlein have been restored and reissued, but can't find them anywhere yet

[@mjb784533]

Hate to be a party pooper to phaasch, but Keller had been working on stereo recordings at Bell Labs as early as 1927 and 28 making recordings of the Capitol Theater Orch with 2 mics 20 feet apart on the balcony rail. He then made stereo recordings of Stokowski and the Phila Orch in 1931 and 32. Those were dual-groove recordings, but these were done starting way before Blumlein even thought of the idea in 1931, also starting with dual groove.

[@maryrafuse3851]

A.C. Keller gives full credit to I.S. Rafuse and as I understand it Rafuse built the equipment. I have seen some of (Rafuse) other drawings and his work was second to none. What a hand! What is tragic is that both Keller & Rafuse are so little known today. These men and others, School Mates working at Bell Labs, built the foundation for today's electronics. Bell Labs, and Columbia University, should do more to honour then.

[@BlazeMaster]

Wow, you really feel the 3D effect there

[@MeTaLdUdE02]

wasn't fantasound, what walt disney was concepting, also stereo? and i heard he tried using it on all prints of fantasia.

[@Poisson4147]

More than stereo - Fantasound was a multi-track, multi-playback process.

[@narabdela]

No it isn't. Blumlein recorded stereo before this!

[@VOMITQUEEN]

1934? Damn!

[@Zickcermacity]

Modern recordings of the popular genres(pop itself, country, rap, rock n roll) are so over-processed, with degrees of dynamic compression and EQ, all in the name of making them louder than the last one, that they are actually harder to listen to than something from before the 1980s!

[@LarryWaldbillig]

Does this have any relation to the Westrex 45/45 system used in conventional stereo records from 1957 onward? It sounds like it from the description......

[@andrewm8831]

Wow the quality of this recording is amazing even on my phone those techs really got it spot on😊😊😊

[@F0nkyNinja]

All the 30's recordings are this quality or even better on the master records out of acetate, aluminium, glass... The 78's they got transferred to however were abysmal in comparison. Consumer aluminium discs or glass discs was just too expensive.

[@radar0412]

Yeah it's too bad Stero wasn't the standard recording method until much later. If people back in the 30's heard Fred Astaire singing "Cheek to Cheek" in Stereo, Maybe the Kids would've been inspired to Shake Rattle and Roll things up a Bit.

[@ANATOLIACHTZEIN]

F A N T A S T I C !

[@gerryaire]

they said "hooked up" way back then? hmmmmm..... (0:33)

[@capitolemiproducer]

Try this at 1929 Stokowski 'Accidental Stereo' (1929) - Stravinsky 'Rite of Spring'

[@BarefootedRay]

Also, you mentioned the names of the people who are hurt on this recording. But who is this Mr. Patterson being referred to? Also, to the commentor who referred to Allan Bloom lines work, I would point out that Arthur Keller was not aware of blue lines work until the 1950s.

[@tharii314]

0:03 GO AHEAD!

[@BarefootedRay]

Seems to me that the channels in this recording or presented the wrong way. According to my understanding, the vertical channel was assigned to the right channel on the lateral channel was assigned to the left channel. But in this presentation of the recording, the verticals on the left, on the lateral was on the right. I do not think that is quite correct.

[@BlaBla-jj6sh]

The channels are indeed reversed. It's even mentioned in the recording, where one of the men states he's at the right side from the audience's point of view when he can be heard from the left side.

[@gustavoceballos5327]

Before there was stereo, there was mono which means you can only hear from 1 sound

[@janpaullubek7954]

its more on left only!

[@ANATOLIACHTZEIN]

The obvious question is, if they had this technology that early already, why did they wait ONE QUARTER OF A CENTURY longer to make it widely available by the masses? So much beautiful music was recorded in monophonic, scratchy 78rpm, et al. recordings, with no high fidelity nor clarity. All the decades of classic & pop music that could have been recorded & preserved in glorious STEREO but wasn't... what a waste.

[@EricBrownBey]

ANATOLIACHTZEIN it wasn't necessarily a waste at all is just had to Fidelity could have been better I actually like stereo and mono recordings later mono recordings from the sixties also and 70s though by the seventies most albums were in stereo

[@Poisson4147]

I share your regret, but many of the factors were economic. Near-hifi 78s were made as early as 1929 but needed special playback equipment that was too expensive for the average consumer. Stereo was even more expensive. When _Fantasia_ was released in 1940 only a handful of theatres could afford the sound equipment needed. And finally some of it was purely cultural. People were so used to mono records that few of them even understood why you'd want to hear anything in multi-channel. Sound engineers of the time knew about stereo and a lot of late-30's and early-40s movie musicals were recorded binaurally, but the tracks were seen as an intermediate step that allowed a better mono mix rather than as a goal in themselves. But oh brother could you imagine hearing Louis Armstrong, Paul Whiteman, or the AAF Orchestra in stereo?

[@abigguitar]

It takes someone that long to walk 8 feet? Cool that this is stereo, though.

[@n0tyham]

There was a partition extending back between the two mics and they had to walk around behind it.

[@jmormar2004]

Now 85! Edit: Now 87!

[@fabriziocolucci4363]

sounds.bl.uk/Sound-recording-history/Alan-Blumlein-recordings/020M-9TS0003384XX-0100V0 This is from 1933, Alan Blumlein speaking in an auditorium testing his stereophonic recording technique.

[@videogamehistorian]

It happened a early as 1931. Go to the next video or paste watch?v=qy4c2fz8Hyo in your navigator url.

[@adamfinney237]

David Winter you'd be surprised the words they use the back then. Nothing is really new

[@hamitcampos4989]

That's cool. Silly like the men said but cool. But as they always say ya got to start someware. Sure it's not the same as going into the woods and recording out doors sounds or recording on the front porch, but meh it at least prooved the point.

[@Poisson4147]

Sorry, but as other posters have noted this is hardly the first stereo recording. Even ignoring so-called "accidental" stereo, experiments were going on as early as the late 1920s. Bell Labs' experiments included famous test recordings of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1932.

[@synaesthesia2010]

This is incorrect. The first stereo discs were cut in 1933 based on a patented technique that was created by Alan Blumlein of EMI after he started experiments in binaural recordings in 1931

[@danielkandi9023]

imagine what a mindfuck it mustve been for the first people listening to it on the radio. wow..

[@jackbailey5304]

Nobody would have heard it on the radio, because it was an experimental recording, not meant for public listening

[@djgeorgieporgie7862]

First stereo recording and no music ? Wtf ?

[@SupIds]

Man 8 feet? These people been doin social distance that long ago.

[@adamfinney237]

This is not fake. Why would somebody fake something so mundane, blase and boring?

[@adankmeme651]

It's hella interesting but also kinda creepy to hear cyrstal clear voices of two men from the 1930s who have probably been long dead.

[@dreamlandnightmare]

I think it's more cool than creepy. Makes them seem more alive than some ghostly sound from the past as is the case for most recordings from the time.

[@maryrafuse3851]

I.S. Rafuse (my Uncle Irad) died before I was born in 1958. So yes they are long dead but they changed the world. Reverend Peter Rafuse, Anglican Priest, Nova Scotia Canada.

[@keithmoon3190]

This is proof the mid atlantic accent was fake.

[@angelmatt8161]

Fake. Who prooved it's authentic ?

[@narabdela]

Idiot

[@jebathannavis5785]

This is fake

[@narabdela]

Another idiot.

[@Poisson4147]

@@narabdela There's always an R.I.P. (Random Internet Poster) who knows more than every tech expert and historian on the planet ....